Weather: blue sky sunny, and hot - 34C in Sondrio.
We slept well in our silk liners on Markus's double bed whilst he rustled on a Thermarest.
Coffee and linzertorte set us up for the leisurely drive to Chiesa.
It's just 170 miles. Scenic miles. Swiss motorway, then the Julienpas, with a pause at Hotel Edelweiss to allow further depleting of our dwindling reserves of Swiss Francs, took us to St Moritz. After that the Bernina Pass to Tirano is accompanied by a wonderful scenic narrow gauge railway line, and Tirano itself warrants a longer visit than our lunchtime excursion to 'Bar Tourist'.
Outside the bar a 16th century church, Basilica Madonna di Tirano, sported as many reliefs and paintings as any church we can recall. A wonderful place with the most amazing sculpted wood embracing the organ and the pulpit.
A short drive under a clear blue sky took us onwards to Chiesa by 4 pm, and Hotel la Betulla. Our car, my bike, and our excess baggage will live here for over a week whilst Sue and I tramp the paths of the Alta Via of the Valmalenco.
Sorting gear, a wander around town, pizzas and a bottle of earthy Rosso di Valtellina at Bar Dunvegan, was all we had time for before crashing out.
Today's pictures:
Sue near the summit of Julienpas
A view towards Piz Bernina from the Bernina Pass road
Basilica Madonna di Tirano
Reliefs etc inside the incredibly ornate Basilica
The view from our balcony in Chiesa
2 comments:
Gee Martin, you are having it tough. Enjoy the weather, its not so good here although yesterday we did have a bit of summer. Today its back to grey and wet.
You and Sheila would enjoy this 'AVV' route. The weather is slowly deteriorating here, but it's still a lovely place to be.
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